That's a Promise
by Goveg
Summary: Long ago in Ancient China, a vicious queen desires to rule all of Ancient China with her own demon army. To make her army grow, she sets her eyes on eight demon children who shall one day grow to become the brutal rulers of the Ancient World.
1. Chapter 1: The Council

**Hey there, this is my first ever Jackie Chan Adventures fanfic that I am going to post up online here.**

**It's been soo long since I have uploaded anything here, so my knowledge of might be a bit rusty.**

**OK so, on to the fanfic! **

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**_Chapter 1: The Council_**

Night had fallen upon the land which is now known as Ancient China.

The humans had finished their days work and were now shut in their huts until early the next morning. It was forbidden for humans to come out during the dark, for that was when the demons would hold their council.

It made one particular demon sick to his stomach.

This demon was Yi Long, demon of the dragons. His powers were to summon and command any type of dragon living in the land. In the past, Yi Long would send dragons on special missions to help mortals in need such as giving rain to their dry crops, putting out raging fires which could destroy an entire village and keeping floods in check. Unfortunately, the queen had restricted the use of his powers for the good of all demons.

"More for the good of her own selfish family," Yi Long snorted angrily.

Ever since Queen Lilith had been crowned as queen, she had made various laws which involved restricting demon powers, forcing mortals to serve demons and erect statues of each member of the Queen's family.

Nearly every demon had accepted these laws while others were afraid and kept quiet about them, but not Yi Long. While demons thought mortals were only useful for service, the dragon demon viewed mortals were just as intellectual as demons and treated them with respect.

Now that the queen had issued harsher laws against mortals, Yi Long felt it was his duty as a respected member of the demon clan to speak up for the oppressed mortals.

Turning away from the window, Yi Long strode down the hall and made his way to a spare bedchamber used for guests, now being used as a birthing room.

Peering into the room, he saw a fox demon laying on her side, her flank going up and down in labor.

This demon was named Ku Ai, the demon of love and Yi Long's mate.

As Yi Long entered the room, Ku Ai lifted her head and smiled weakly. "Hello Yi Long,"

"How are you doing so far, love?" Yi Long asked as he rubbed his camel-like head against hers.

"The pain comes and goes," Ku Ai said, "I can feel the little ones inside me clambering around." She gave a soft laugh. "They're probably fighting with each other to see who gets to come out first."

Her laugh suddenly became a gasp of pain.

Yi Long stiffened before Ku Ai flicked her tail. "It is just the regular pain, my love. They should be coming soon, very soon."

"A pity I must go to this wretched council," Yi Long hissed, "hour after hour of useless laws coming from the queen and her brats."

"Then why go, Yi Long? You know how much the queen hates you and your views on treating mortals equally."

Yi Long pressed his nose against his mate's forehead. "Demons and mortals must learn to live side by side. Think of all the possibilities we could benefit from if both sides learn from each other."

Ku Ai smiled fondly. "You think differently from all the other demons, Yi Long. You are not afraid to take risks."

"Why do you think I married you?" Yi Long smiled.

"Ha-ha," Ku Ai playfully swatted her mate with her paw. Yi Long nudged his mate's flank comfortingly.

"Don't come out until I come back," He whispered to the unborn litter.

With one last nuzzle for his mate, the dragon demon turned and walked out of the room. Before leaving, he nodded to the two human midwives.

"Make sure she's taken care of."

The midwives bowed respectfully as the dragon demon headed to the Queen's palace.

Hours later, Yi Long was seated among the demon council, muttering curses under his breath.

If there was one thing he hates the most, these meetings would take the prize. His mate could be giving birth to their children right about now and here he was listening to endless reports of how many crops were harvested for demons, how many statues and shrines were built for the demons, how many rebel mortals were captured by the queen's soldiers and other affairs which bored Yi Long to death.

He glanced up towards the high throne where Queen Lilith sat. She was a fierce demon that looked like a lioness but had the wings of a bat and the horns of a dragon.

At last, the demon who was speaking had finally finished. Now it was time for Yi Long to take the stand. As Yi Long stalked towards the middle of the floor, the other demons separated to make way for the dragon demon.

When he took the floor, Yi Long took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Demons of all lands, it has been five years since the war between mortals and demons and even today I still see brutal treatment of mortals by demons."

"Thank you Yi Long," The Queen interrupted, "but you must remember who started the war in the first place. If it wasn't for that human thief who stole demon artifacts and slew my dear mate, they wouldn't be in this predicament."

"I am sorry for your mate Lilith, but the humans have suffered enough. First they are defeated in the war, then you start over taxing them and now you are dealing out brutal punishments if they do not comply with your laws."

Queen Lilith narrowed her red eyes angrily at Yi Long. "Let me remind you that we are demons. We have no need to be compassion to mere mortals. The suggestion that mortals should be treated equally as demons is outrageous to think of! Insulting, I might add."

The Queen looked over at her party of loyal demons who were beginning to whisper and nod their heads.

Still, Yi Long would not back down.

"Mortals have helped demons long before the war. When I was a child, a severe case of claw rot struck my village with many demons losing their talons and claws. One day, mortals came to the village and created a healing salve that cured the disease. Not only that, they created special metal talons for those who lost theirs to the disease. Think of all the possibilities that could happen if we begin to work with mortals. Lilith, it'll be a brighter future for our children and—"

"You shall address me with my proper title, Yi Long." The queen interrupted, "frankly, I am appalled that you could preach about mortals healing demons."

Before Yi Long could speak, a rumbling of agreement began from the queen's demon subjects.

Ignoring her subjects, the queen continued on. "Our ancestors have given the mortals countless of chances and they have broken each of them. The theft of the demon artifacts was the last straw and now those humans must pay for their past crimes against demons!"

The queen looked around at the gathered demons, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Those who do not accept the laws of demons ruling over mortals should not be considered demons at all! We shall rule over the mortals forever!"

A great cheer rose from the crowds of demons.

Yi Long bowed his head as the cheer became louder.

The Queen had won over her subjects once again.

Leaping down from the high throne, the queen flicked her tail to signal the end of the council.

Yi Long remained where he was as the others began to file out of the room. Another council had come and once again he lost to the queen. He sighed as he headed for the way out.

"Oh, Yi Long?"

The dragon demon froze in his tracks at the queen's voice. Turning his head cautiously behind him, he noticed the queen standing with a cub by her paws. Yi Long recognized the cub as Shi Hei, daughter of Queen Lilith. Except for the darker fur color and narrower face, the cub was an exact replica of the queen from the tiny wings to the stubby growing horns. The queen gently passed a paw over her daughter's fur as she smiled a kindly smile at Yi Long. This smile put Yi Long on edge.

"I do hope you forget about all this, Yi Long." The queen spoke in a much kinder tone than before. "You must remember how mortals vilified demons in their myths."

_Perhaps some had a good reason to._ Yi Long thought to himself.

"After all," the queen added as she nuzzled her cub, "you wouldn't want anything to happen to that second-class demon you call a mate."

"Keep my mate out of your political speeches!" Yi Long growled.

"Very well then," The queen nodded, "I'll forgive you for your little outburst in this council. You might change your mind in the future. After all, children are said to change the hearts of anyone."

Yi Long stiffened. _How could she—_

"Oh don't act surprise, Yi Long. I know things. So you better watch where you step if you don't want anything to happen to your family."

Without another word, the queen picked up her cub by the scruff of the neck and stalked down the hallways with the cub grinning smugly at the dragon demon.

Yi Long bared his fangs angrily.

Council meetings had now dropped into second place for the things he hated the most.

Gathering as much dignity as he could, Yi Long walked out of the queen's palace ignoring the hostile glances from the few remaining demons still behind. This demeanor changed when he reached outside. Once he stepped into the cool night, he walked a few paces away from the queen's palace before sprinting towards home.

Back home, the midwives were surprised by Yi Long bursting into the house, gasping for breath.

"Master Yi Long! What—"

"Ku Ai…" Yi Long panted. "…need to…help her with…"

"I'm sorry Master Yi Long, but your wife had finished with the birth."

"Oh. Err…is she alright?"

"She's fine. She is nursing the infants right now. You have two new beautiful daughters!"

Two daughters! Yi Long began to feel light-headed. He wasn't sure if it was from the news or from the long run.

"What about sons? How many sons do I have?"

"Seven strong sons."

The next thing Yi Long knew was that he went crashing to the floor in complete shock.

"Master Yi Long!" The midwives cried out.

The dragon demon laid on the hard floor, blinking in confusion. "Did I hear you right? Seven sons?"

"Yes, no more, no less. Would you like your children?"

Yi Long could only nod as the midwives helped him up and led him towards the birthing room.

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So...how did I do for my first ever Jackie Chan Adventures fanfic?

**Tips and/or constructive crticism could be useful.**

**Is it just me or does the spacing won't work? **


	2. Chapter 2: Birth of the Demons

**_OK then, here is Chapter 2 of the fanfic. This fanfic might be updated slowly because of all the stuff I need to do in real life. _**

**_But in the meantime, enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 2: Birth of the Demons**

Once reaching the birthing room, Yi Long broke away from the midwives and ran into the room.

"Ku Ai!"

Though exhausted, the female demon managed to raise her head and smile at her mate. "Hello Yi Long."

The dragon demon took a step towards his mate but hesitated.

"Well come take a look," Ku Ai nodded. "They won't bite you, at least not yet, anyway."

Yi Long approached his mate, peering curiously at his new children. There were nine infants in total, each with a different color and a different characteristic.

Yi Long smiled as he rubbed his head against his mate's head. "They're beautiful. You did fantastic!"

"I had some help," Ku Ai nodded at the midwives. The midwives bowed respectfully as they backed out of the room, leaving the couple alone.

Yi Long watched his children squirming around each other in search of the warmest spot to sleep.

"Which ones are the two girls?"

Ku Ai gently placed her nose on two of the infants. One was a blue-skinned mermaid with small waving tentacles. The other was green-skinned and the biggest out of her siblings.

"I am so sorry, you two." Yi Long murmured to his two daughters.

Ku Ai looked up in surprise. "Why should you be sorry, my love?"

"Seven sons, Ku Ai. Seven! Do not get me wrong, I am very happy with our great new family. But still…even I didn't have that many brothers when I was young!"

"Must be from my side of the family," Ku Ai admitted sheepishly. "But never mind how many sons we have, we still need to name them."

"You want to name them right now?"

Ku Ai yawned sleepily and laid her head down. "First thing tomorrow. After giving birth to nine, I need a good sleep."

"You deserve it, my love."

Ku Ai smiled as she closed her eyes. Pretty soon, she was fast asleep.

An angry squeak made Yi Long look down. One of his sons, a tiny dragon-like demon, had been shoved away from the group and now he couldn't find his way back to his spot.

Yi Long gently picked up his son and placed him in an empty spot between a tiny bat-like demon baby and a light purple toad-like demon baby. Nestling between his two brothers, the dragon baby continued on nursing.

Yi Long smiled down at his new children.

"Don't worry. Bà-bà is here. I promise that I will make sure nothing bad will happen to you, my children."

The dragon demon was so besotted with his new children, that he did not notice an unnaturally large owl flapping away from the window sill.

####

"Mama! Mama!"

Shi Hei, daughter of the queen, raced through the hallways of the palace, calling for her mother.

A snake-like creature with crane-like legs and no arms watched as the princess scurried towards him.

This demon was named Ru Yong, demon of the swamp.

The snake-like demon stepped in front of the young princess.

"Why Princess Shi Hei, whatever is the matter?"

"Jian Lei's back!" Shi Hei exclaimed. "He told me—"

Shi Hei stopped herself before turning away from the crane-like demon. "No! I won't tell you, you're just a servant. I want to speak with mama."

Ru Yong frowned. Stepping closer towards the young demon, he lowered his head.

"Your highness, you must tell me. How else would I share the news with your mother?"

Shi Hei stuck her nose in the air. "I still won't tell you. I want to see mama."

Ru Yong snarled with annoyance. "Very well, follow me."

Shi Hei trotted happily behind Ru Yong as the demon of the swamps led her to her mother's bedroom.

Lilith looked up in annoyance as Ru Yong entered with her daughter.

"What is it, you two?" She snarled. "I was just going to put the triplets to bed!"

Curled near her paws were three tiny demon cubs who were staring up at their older sister.

"Mama!" Shi Hei hissed with excitement. "Jian Lei came back! He has news of Yi Long!"

Lilith's eyes widened and then narrowed with interest. Standing up, she nudged Shi Hei out of the room.

"Ru Yong, look for Cai, Lian and Ming. Tell them a story or something like that! I'll be right back."

"But your majesty, why not get Kuang Nu?"

"Don't be stupid! You know how Kuang Nu hates children!"

"But-"

The protest was heard on deaf ears as the door slammed shut. Ru Yong glared down at the three demon cubs who were baring their teeth at him in smug grins of delight.

"I despise children as well…"

"Well, Shi Hei?" Lilith hissed once out in the hallway. "What news does Jian Lei bring?"

"He saw Yi Long's new children!" Shi Hei reported proudly.

"What?" Lilith hissed. "What did he see?"

"Yi Long has nine children! Seven boys and two girls!"

"Seven boys?"

Lilith was silent for awhile. Then her lips parted into a smile. "That's wonderful!"

The queen raised her paw and began to pat her daughter's head fondly. "Thank you for telling me the good news, my little one."

Shi Hei blinked. She hadn't expected her mother to take the news so warmly.

This was highly unusual, even for her.

"Mama, what will happen to Yi Long's children?"

"Oh don't worry my little treasure. We shall keep a close eye on them. They might be useful one day."


	3. Chapter 3: Sibling Rivalry and A Talk

**Sorry for not updating for awhile! College and writers block had a major toll on me. Thank goodness for Christmas break!**

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_**Chapter 3: Sibling Rivalry and A Talk**_

Ku Ai lifted her heads toward the blue skies and breathed in deeply. The sound of birds chirping in the treetops mixed with the sound of the soft wind gave her a feeling of peace and happiness. Nestled between her forelegs was a tiny dark gray bat-like child, sleeping peacefully. Leaning down she gave the child a gentle lick between his ears. The child snuggled in closer with a small sigh. Ku Ai smiled and closed her eyes, content with the peace in the forest.

_"MAMAA!"_

Ku Ai winced at the sound of her daughter's angry screech. The bat child looked up in alarm at his mother.

"Mama, what—"

"It's only your sister, Hsi Wu." Ku Ai reassured as a light blue mermaid demon slithered towards her. As she got closer, Ku Ai noticed the mud smeared across her daughter's body.

"Bai Tsa, what on—"

"Shendu pushed me in the mud!" The tiny demon screeched.

Hsi Wu began to snicker as his mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why did he do that?"

"Because he's mean!"

Ku Ai sighed. "Were you bothering him in any way?"

"No!"

Ku Ai narrowed her eyes which she always did whenever she suspected one of her children wasn't telling the truth.

Bai Tsa began to squirm uncomfortably. "Well…maybe a little…"

Ku Ai sighed as she nudged her daughter towards her. "Honestly, we take you all out to the forest to amuse yourselves and one of you begins a war. Now hold still while I clean you up."

"Mama!" Bai Tsa hissed as she tried to squirm away.

Hsi Wu meanwhile sat back and smirked.

######

In another part of the forest, a young dragon wandered around, munching on a peach.

"Stupid sister," He hissed between bites, "served her right for pulling on my tail!"

"Shendu!"

The tiny dragon froze and looked up from his peach. Two demon children were standing in his way. One was blue skinned with small horns growing from its brow and chin. The other was a brown minotaur-like demon with budding green horns.

"Care to show us what you have?" The blue-skinned demon asked.

"Yes," the brown one nodded. "Dai Gui and Tchang Zu are hungry too."

Shendu took a step back, clutching his peach close to him. "Go away! It's mine!"

"You have to share with us," Tchang Zu said, taking a step closer to his younger brother, "We are older than you."

"Yes," Dai Gui nodded again, "Young demons have to listen to the older ones."

"I don't care!" Shendu hissed. "It's my peach!"

The two older brothers lunged towards Shendu who took off the other direction.

"Come back here!"

The two brothers began chasing their younger brother through the forest.

As he ran alongside the river, Shendu suddenly felt one of his brothers tackle his legs, knocking him to the ground. Unfortunately, this tackle made Shendu release his peach.

"My peach!" Shendu cried.

The peach rolled down a grassy slope right in front of a rather large green demon child.

The demon child picked up the peach and sniffed it curiously.

"Give that back, Po Kong!" Shendu snapped. "That's my peach!"

"But we're older!" Tchang Zu replied. "We should get a share of it!"

Po Kong gave a sly smirk to the arguing brothers.

"If you are unable to agree on who it is, it's mine now."

"NOOO!" The demon brothers cried as they watched their sister pop the peach into her mouth and swallowed.

"Mmmm, delicious!"

"That's not fair, sister Po Kong!" Shendu snarled, "That was mine!"

Po Kong sneered. "Idiot, what's yours is mine and what's mine is my own."

"What is going on here?"

Three other demon children had joined them. One was toad-like in appearance with a lavender coloring with yellow plating down his back. The other had the appearance of a horse foal but unlike a normal horse foal it had blue fur, an orange mane and two budding horns growing out of his head. The last one was pale blue with a very long face. On top of his head was black hair and when he spoke his long tongue flicked around.

"What is with all the fighting now?"

Shendu glared over at Po Kong and growled. "Sister Po Kong ate my peach." He turned back to his brothers and stared at the toad-like brother who gave a belch. "What's the matter with him?"

The demon foal child turned towards his brother and gave him a friendly nudge. "Xiao Fung was practicing his wind power, but I think he swallowed in too much air." He gave another friendly nudge to his toad-like brother. "Well, better out than in."

Xiao Fung only belched softly.

"Was he successful, Tso Lan?" Tchang Zu wanted to know.

"Well," Tso Lan answered, "not with huge storm winds, but he managed a tiny breeze."

"I suppose that's better than Shendu's little spark power," Tchang Zu chuckled.

Shendu glared up at his older brother. The little horse foal demon trotted up to the little dragon and nudged him. "It'll get better when he's older. When we're grown ups, everyone will fear the duo of Shendu the Fire Demon and Tai Yang the Sun Demon!"

Shendu looked up at his brother and smiled. He could always count on his favorite brother to cheer him up.

"Oh yes, you two will be deadly." Po Kong laughed. "One look at Shendu and your enemies will laugh themselves to death.

Shendu clenched his hands into fists, wondering whether it was worth it to lunge at Po Kong despite his small size. Before he could reach a decision, a voice interrupted.

"Huh, so that's how half-breed children behave around each other. That is just pathetic."

The demon children looked towards the owner of the voice. Across on the other side of the river, a dark gray lion cub demon with bat wings and small horns stood on top of a boulder, smirking at them.

Tai Yang coughed. "Um, hello. Who are you?"

The gray cub laughed. "You don't know me? How stupid are you?"

"Dai Gui not stupid," The earth demon grumbled.

Tchang Zu took a step towards the demon cub. "Why don't you leave this forest? It's ours!"

"That's where you are wrong," The cub sneered, "isn't this forest part of China?"

"Yes."

"And isn't China ruled by the queen?"

The demon children looked at each other in confusion.

"Yes…"

"Well then this forest doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the queen, who is also my mother so this forest belongs to me and my sisters so I should be the one telling you to leave."

The way she spoke made Shendu dislike this demon child more and more.

"Does that mean you are a princess?" Po Kong asked.

"That is correct. Mother says we are the most pure out of all demons. We wouldn't dare associate with second-class demons like your pitiful excuse for a mother."

Shendu stiffened. "What do you mean 'second-class'?"

"Your mother's element is one of the weakest element in the entire world! I would be ashamed if one of my parents had an element like that."

"She said her element is the most powerful of all." Xiao Fung responded.

"Oh really? My mother says otherwise and she is queen so she must be right. If you want, I can take you to her and she'll answer your questions."

"We'd rather not." Tso Lan replied. "Our father said there are wolves, tigers and bears in the deeper part of the forest."

The demon cub sniffed. "I'm not scared of them. They know who my mother is and they wouldn't dare attack me. Come on, I'll take you to my palace and my mother shall explain everything to you."

Xiao Fung blinked. "But our parents—"

The cub waved a paw carelessly and smiled. "Oh, my mother will send a guard to tell them where you are and they'll pick you up later."

"No thank you," Tai Yang said. For some reason he felt his stomach grow nauseous.

The cub's smile turned into a sneer. "Oh don't be such cowards!"

A voice suddenly spoke behind the children. "You are just like your mother, forcing others against their will!"

The demon children looked up to find their father standing over them, glaring at the demon cub.

"Shi Hei, what are you doing here?"

The cub named Shi Hei stood up straighter and sneered. "Why do you want to know, mortal lover?"

"If my children say no, then accept it! Don't persuade them to do something against their will or else you'll have me to worry about. Now get back to your mother while I still have my patience!"

Shi Hei leapt off the boulder and raced off into the opposite direction. Shendu grinned and stuck out his tongue at the fleeing demon child. "Ha! Stupid child."

"Now that's enough from you," Yi Long said as he tweaked his son's growing horns.

Shendu flinched. The tweak didn't hurt a lot, but it was still humiliating for your father to scold you in front of your siblings.

"Yes, Baba." Shendu mumbled as his siblings began to snicker.

#######

"Mama, look! It's Baba!"

Ku Ai lifted her head at the sound of Hsi Wu's voice.

The fox demon sighed with relief at the sight of her mate and children. "You're here! I was getting a worried."

"No need to worry, Ku Ai." Yi Long went over to his mate and nuzzled her head. It was then he noticed Bai Tsa. "What on earth—"

"Oh it's nothing, Yi Long." Ku Ai sighed. "Shendu and Bai Tsa got into a little tussle...for the fifteenth time this month."

"Are you going to yell at him, Baba?" Bai Tsa wanted to know. "If you are, I want to watch!"

Yi Long gave his daughter a stern look. "Nobody is yelling at anyone tonight. But I will speak to him." He looked over at his children who had started a game of armies fighting off imaginary foes.

"Shendu! Shendu, come here please."

The dragon child looked up, alarm etched all over his face. Alarm then turned into shame as he slowly made his way to his father.

"Yes, Baba?"

"Come, son. Let's go on a small walk."

Bai Tsa gave a triumphant grin towards her brother. "You're going to get it now!"

"Shut up!" Shendu hissed as he followed his father.

Dusk was nearing as father and son walked through the woods but as long as he stayed near his father, Shendu wasn't afraid.

Finally his father spoke.

"Shendu, your mother told me that you had an argument with your sister again, is that right?"

Shendu looked up at his father. "She was pulling my tail!"

"That's no excuse for pushing her in the mud," Yi Long said patiently. "If your sister is bothering you, you must be bigger than her and ignore her."

Shendu thought about this for a moment. "If I'm bigger, then I should hit her."

Yi Long stared long and hard at Shendu, causing the young dragon to become nervous.

"They're always picking on me, Baba!" The young dragon complained. "Hsi Wu's younger than me, but almost nobody picks on him. Mama says I should ignore them, but I can't!"

Yi Long stared long and hard at his young son before softening his expression. "It's hard to be a young brother, isn't it?"

Shendu nodded.

"You're growing up, Shendu." His father continued. "As you grow older, your powers will become stronger and stronger. What do you think will happen if you cannot control your anger when you become older?"

Shendu narrowed his red eyes. "I will be the strongest demon ever, stronger than my brothers and sisters and then they will listen to me!"

Yi Long sighed. "Oh dear, do you think that strength is the most important thing?"

"Tchang Zu says it is."

"You don't always have to listen to what Tchang Zu says. You may not be the biggest out of your brothers or sisters, but you have many other talents as well. Your siblings will see that one day."

Shendu looked up in wonder. "You really think so?"

Yi Long gave a loving nuzzle. "I don't think so, I know so. Now come on son. I must speak to Bai Tsa about her attitude towards her younger siblings."

Shendu grinned wickedly as he followed his father back to the others. Arriving back with the others, Yi Long immediately called for his daughter. Bai Tsa slithered after her father, sticking out her tongue at Shendu's smug triumphant face.

Once his sister had gone off with their father, Shendu wandered off with his other siblings to investigate the smell of rabbit blood in the nearby bushes.


	4. Chapter 4: Beginnings of the Talismans

Hey there fellow readers. I finally got around to finishing this chapter and uploading it on here. Chapter updates might be a bit slow due to real life situations and...well pure laziness. ^^;

Please be patient with me. I am determined to finish this story.

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It was late when Yi Long entered his studies later that night. Lighting several candles, the dragon demon sat at his desk and took out some several blank scrolls, brushes, ink and finally twelve blank octagon-shaped talismans. Yi Long picked up one of the talismans and stared at it long and hard. He had found these talismans on the day after the birth of his children and since then he had wanted to do something special with these talismans that his children can share. Setting the talisman down on his desk, Yi Long turned to the other scrolls and began to study them. After reading two or three scrolls, Yi Long opened up the fourth scroll and began to read.

_Long ago, an ancient Emperor invited all the animals throughout the world to a great feast to celebrate the New Year. However, only twelve animals showed up at the feast and to reward the animals the Emperor promised the animals a placement in the Chinese Zodiac and a special power. _

_The animals were intrigued by this reward and each of them begged to be placed first in the Chinese Zodiac. Very soon, an argument erupted between the animals and a couple of them began to fight._

_The Emperor immediately calmed the animals by announcing a grand swimming race shall be held. The winner shall be the first animal in the zodiac while the rest shall be placed in the zodiac by the order they arrived._

Yi Long closed the scroll and sat back, thinking about the rest of the story. He could remember it fairly well, having been told the story for nearly all his life for it was an ancestor of his that came in fifth place and received the power of combustion.

Yi Long immediately sat up in his chair as an idea came to him. Twelve talismans…twelve animals…that could work somehow!

Yi Long immediately unrolled a scroll, dipped his brush into ink and began to write a list, pausing once in awhile to remember which animal had which power. After a while, he finished the list and took a look at it. Satisfied, he began writing instructions on what he was planning to do.

"Yi Long?"

Yi Long looked up at the sound of his mate's voice.

Ku Ai poked her head in and looked down at her mate's desk. "I'm sorry, were you busy?"

"No, it's all right. Are the children asleep?"

"Yes, all of them are finally sleeping soundly."

"Good. I have a great surprise in store for them. You remember those twelve talismans I found on the day of their birth?"

Ku Ai nodded. "Have you've finally figured out a use for them?"

"Indeed," Yi Long handed the list to his wife. She began to read.

_**Rat-Motion to the Motionless**_

_**Ox-Super strength**_

_**Tiger-Spiritual balance**_

_**Rabbit-Super speed**_

_**Dragon-Combustion**_

_**Snake-Invisibility**_

_**Horse-Healing**_

_**Sheep-Astral projection**_

_**Monkey-Shapeshifting**_

_**Rooster-Levitation**_

_**Dog-Immortality**_

_**Pig-Heat Beam Eyes**_

Smiling, she gave the list back to her husband. "I think I am starting to understand. Each talisman will represent one animal from the zodiac and it will also give them their powers?"

Yi Long nodded.

"How on earth are you going to do that?" Ku Ai wanted to know. "I doubt the noble animals will give their full powers to a demon."

"Not their full powers," Yi Long insisted, "only a small portion. I will search for these noble animals and ask them to lend a bit of their powers for the talismans. I will also remind them that I am a descendent of the original dragon and—"

"Master Yi Long!"

A frantic cry made the two demons turn in alarm. One of their servants was leaning against the doorway, looking frazzled and terrified.

"Lin," Ku Ai spoke with concern, "what is wrong?"

"A squadron of the queen's soldiers…they are standing outside the front gate…Lord Aku is leading them!"

Yi Long's eyes darkened at the name of the demon leader. He turned towards Ku Ai.

"Get everyone out of here immediately. Take our children and the servants deep into the woods."

His expression changed from a hardened expression to grief. "Once you arrive into the woods, do not stop until you reach a safe place. No matter what happens…do not stop."

Ku Ai felt a shiver of fear go through her body. Nevertheless, she nodded. The two demons gave one last loving embrace before parting ways.

Ku Ai headed towards her children's bedroom while Yi Long headed towards the front gate of their manor home.

His expression became hardened as he opened the gates and faced the soldiers of the queen.

Standing in front of the squadron of soldiers was another dragon demon. His scales were dark gray, almost black, while his mane was dark red. The underside of his belly was green and two deadly horns formed on his head. The dragon slowly revealed his fangs which was his way of smiling.

"Hello Yi Long."

Yi Long narrowed his eyes. "Hello brother…"

* * *

Ooh, plot twist!

...I think. ^^;

**Note:** Aku in this story is NOT the Aku from the popular cartoon, _Samurai Jack. _I might have taken a few aspects of that Aku and gave it to this Aku in the story, but they are not the same character. Although it might be a fun concept to toy around with for a possible sequel to this one. ;D

We'll see.


	5. Chapter 5: Unknown Loss

**Chapter 5: Unknown Loss**

"Children, wake up!"

Shendu opened his eyes at the sound of his mother's voice. He lifted his head from his pillow and blinked sleepily, yawning.

"Mama? What—"

"Quiet, Shendu." his mother whispered as she was awakening the rest of his siblings. "Don't ask questions, just follow me."

Still sleepy and confused, the demon children were herded out of the room and out into the manor grounds. They were surprised to see the servants gathered around the back door leading to the forests.

"Mama, why is everyone outside?"

"Where's Bà-bà?"

"What's going on mama?"

Ku Ai bit her bottom lip as her children continued on with questions. "There is no time to explain. We must leave immediately. Your father…your father will meet us somewhere safe…"

The children said nothing, but by the way their mother spoke they could sense something was wrong…terribly wrong.

Ku Ai gave a silent signal to the servants. The gates opened and the group slipped into the darkness, heading towards the forest.

* * *

"Do not call me by that term, Yi Long." Aku hissed. "That should have died long ago."

"It doesn't matter to me, Aku." Yi Long insisted. "You are still my brother, no matter what path you have chosen."

"Ha!" Aku sneered. "Since when have you've been interested in my business, Yi Long? Speaking of business, I am here for something other than discussing past bonds and all that."

"Which is what?" Yi Long narrowed his eyes. "If Lilith's daughter told her about what happened today, then she should—"

"It's not about the princess."

"Then what is the trouble?"

"You know perfectly well, Yi Long!" Aku hissed. "The stolen medicine!"

Yi Long blinked. "Medicine?"

"Yes, the medicine stolen from the infirmary at the queen's palace! You know that mortal village located a few miles away from this area? The one where many mortals were dying from a disease?"

"Yes."

"It disappeared a few days ago and just now we were receiving reports that the disease in the village has subsided and the mortals are thriving." At this point, Aku narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Since every demon knows so well that you are extremely vocal about mortals, we connected these two events and came to the conclusion that you must have done something relating to it."

Yi Long said nothing, causing Aku's suspicion to rise. "Well? Did you or did you not steal the medicine?"

Yi Long stared straight into the eyes of his brother. "I assure you, I am not the one who stole the medicine."

"Then you must come with us and explain to the queen."

Yi Long gave a humorless laugh. "The queen? Why would she want to hear my side when she despises me? I think I can see where this is going. I go along with you to the palace where the queen will order her guards to seize me. She will then throw me in the dungeon and leave me to rot."

Yi Long turned and started towards the manor. "I'm sorry Aku, but I cannot accept your invitation to the palace. I have a family that needs me and I don't want my children to grow up without a father."

Aku narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry it has to come down to this, Yi Long."

He flicked his tail, a signal his squad had been waiting for. Yi Long turned around and froze at the sight of the demon squadron charging towards him.

* * *

Ku Ai froze and looked over her shoulder. The sounds of battle had reached the forest, causing a standstill to the traveling group. The demon fox felt her children press themselves closer to her in fright.

"Mama!" Po Kong cried. "What's that noise?"

Ku Ai did not answer her daughter's question. Instead she tried to hurry her children along. "Keep going children, we must not stop. No matter what happens…we must not stop."

They continued on deeper, the noise of battle becoming fainter and fainter. When they arrived at a vast clearing, the noises had completely stopped.

Ku Ai turned towards the servants. "Everyone, get some rest. We must wait until Yi Long arrives and then we will see where we shall go from here."

She turned towards her children. "And you all must go to sleep. It is past your bedtime."

"Mama? Will Bà-bà be okay?" Hsi Wu wanted to know.

Ku Aim smiled. "Of course, dear. Your father is a brave and powerful demon. He'll be here soon. You'll see."

Satisfied with this answer, Hsi Wu joined his brothers and sisters in sleep. Ku Ai closed her eyes and wondered who she was trying to convince. Her child or herself?

* * *

A few miles away from the clearing, Yi Long desperately crashed through the forest foliage. He winced from the various wounds on his body from his fight against his brother's squadron. He had managed to escape them but it would be a matter of time before the dripping blood would lead them to him. A horrible thought suddenly came to him. If he tried to find his family, the blood spots might also lead the queen's soldiers to them. Well, might as well head the opposite direction to keep them safe. Yi Long headed towards the southern area of the forest in hopes of finding some cool mud to compress his wounds before making his way to his family. The faint sound of rushing water reached his ears becoming louder and louder as he continued. Finally he came upon something that made him close his eyes and groan.

Of course, he had forgotten about the gorge that cut through the forest. No choice but to fly over now.

Taking a deep breath he leapt into the air and flew towards the other side of the gorge. Suddenly a blast of fierce pain exploded in his shoulders. Roaring with pain, Yi Long's concentration was broken.

Aku watched his brother fall straight into the gorge before going over to the edge. Looking down he watched as his brother landed in the river, disappearing beneath the white foam of the rapids. Yi Long's head bobbed up to the surface before being swept away by the rapids. Aku narrowed his eyes as he lost sight of his brother's body. Snorting, he turned and walked off.

"Hmph, so much for taking him dead or alive…"

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Hey there readers! I apologize for making you wait so long for another chapter. I appreciate the patience and I promise to continue on working on this fanfic even if it takes me awhile to upload. But I assure you, I am determined to finish. :)


	6. Chapter 6: Start of Danger

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the long delay in chapter updates...had a busy life with school and a work training program I had plus going around in several different fandoms. But recently I went to the Jackie Chan Adventures fandom and watched a couple of episodes so that gave me the drive to write the next chapter to this fanfic. **

**Anyway, once again sorry for the long delay!**

**_Chapter 6: Start of Danger_**

"You what?! What do you mean 'disappeared'?!"

Aku flinched at the queen's angry roar. "We cannot find Yi Long's body, your majesty. The current in the river was too strong. His body might be miles away from this area. However, we did find some items that could be useful to us. Yi Long had been planning something with several talismans, the 12 chosen animals and—"

"I don't care about the 12 animals or talismans!" Lilith roared, taking a dangerous step closer to Aku. "I said I wanted his body in front of me!"

Aku glared at the queen. "Your majesty, there is nothing I could have done! He was over the gorge when I wounded him and he fell before I could reach him. Did you expect me to risk my life by jumping in and dragging his body from the river? You would have lost a valuable general, your majesty."

The queen snorted and stormed towards the window, glaring out at the village.

"Yi Long is no more of a threat to you," Aku insisted. "No one, mortal or demon, could survive a raging river like the one he fell in. He was already wounded before he fell in anyway. If the loss of blood doesn't kill him, the animals hunting around the area would soon smell his blood and have a grand feast."

The queen frowned. "I suppose you could be right…but it's still not enough."

"Not…enough?" Aku blinked.

Lilith glared out at the landscape outside before slowly turning to Aku. "Your little nieces and nephews, how are they?"

"Er…I didn't see them your highness." Aku admitted. "Yi Long must have hidden them somewhere along with his mate."

"Hmm…" Queen Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Then they must be hiding in the wilderness somewhere." She waved a paw. "Tell the guards to claim Yi Long's former home as one of my fortresses. Also, tell Jian Lei to search the forests for Yi Long's mate. Wherever his mate is, their children cannot be far behind."

"And just what exactly are you planning to do?" Aku wanted to know.

"Think Aku, if Yi Long's children ever learn that their father had been killed by my soldiers, they would want to avenge him. They will grow up and fight against me. I already had enough problems with Yi Long, I don't need any more with his little brats against me."

She then smirked. "Which is why they will be working for me…"

* * *

It was very late at night, yet Ku Ai still kept watch as the servants rested. She fought against the exhaustion and made herself stay awake in case Yi Long appeared or if any of the queen soldiers were nearby.

Hours passed and soon the night slowly became filled with several songs from the birds. Dawn was coming and Ku Ai had a horrible feeling that something went wrong.

"Lady Ku Ai?"

The fox demon turned her head to see that the servants had awoken and were waiting for her orders.

"Has Lord Yi Long returned?"

Ku Ai shook her head. "No…he hasn't…"

A worried murmur began to pass through the servants. They had been warned that the demon queen might attack the family, but Yi Long had promised them they would be safe from any harm the demon queen would have inflicted on them.

As if reading their mind, Ku Ai added, "As much as it pains me to do this, I cannot wait for Yi Long. The queen hates him and therefore she hates anyone associated with him whether demon or mortal."

She looked into each servant's faces, pain etched on her face. "You all have been loyal to my family and I am very grateful to you all. Therefore, I must send you away."

The servants gasped.

"Send us away?!"

"To a world filled with demons who hate mortals?"

"Lady Ku Ai, you cannot do this! What about our families?"

Ku Ai silenced the servants with a wave of one of her tails. "Let me finish, I must send you away for your protection. However, Yi Long has given me a map to a location hidden away from the queen and her army. I will give you all the same map so that you may all find safety."

She turned to the nearest servant and placed a paw on his forehead. The servant froze as Ku Ai closed her eyes and focused her powers to send mental images of the map to him. Soon the servant closed his eyes as landmarks began to appear in his mind. Ku Ai took her paw off the servant's forehead and turned to the next servant. One by one each servant was given a mental map to the area Yi Long deemed as safe from the queen. Once the last servant was given the map, Ku Ai took a step back to address her servants one last time.

"I am eternally grateful for your service. I pray that all of you will be able to reach your destination safely and that we will meet again someday. Now go…leave before the queen finds us. I will never forget any of you."

The servants bowed to the fox demon, many were openly weeping. One by one the servants parted their separate ways. Ku Ai watched them go, blinking back unshed tears.

I must be strong. Now that the servants have been taken care of, I must lead my children to safety. I must be strong for them…

She walked over to her children who were still deeply sound asleep.

"Children…children, wake up…"

The nine young demons stirred from their sleep, blinking and yawning.

"What is it mama?"

"Get up," Ku Ai said softly. "We have to leave quickly."

"But why mama?" Bai Tza asked.

"There isn't time to explain," Ku Ai answered. "We have to leave now."

"I'm hungry mama," Po Kong said.

"We'll find food while we travel," Ku Ai said. "Just please get up."

"But what about—"

"Children!" Ku Ai hissed. "There is no time for questions, we must leave now!"

The children stared up at their mother in surprise. They immediately got up and followed their mother into the forest unaware that the life they had been so comfortable with was gone.

They had no idea about the path they were about to face.

**A/N: In case anyone was wondering, I will be writing about the map Ku Ai gave the servants in future chapters. Plus the next chapters will be focusing more on the demon kids.**


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